AMC - The Killing - Page 14

What do you think the odds of any improvement are when the showrunner is the same?

This feels like a show by people better suited for procedurals than serials. And lo and behold, the show is helmed by the person responsible for... Cold Case.

The surprise is that there's ZERO chance that The Killing will be the worst show on TV this year... Thanks, THE FOLLOWING!

I never thought it was THAT bad in the first place - just manipulative, but any show centered around a large chunk of information that deliberately has to be kept from the audience for a long period of time (cough*Lost*cough) is going to be manipulative. I'll just go ahead and say it... I don't think it's possible for a show to do a mystery plotline, at least not one that's the primary focus of the show, that won't degenerate into an endless series of rug-pullings and red herrings after a certain period of time. If you like that stuff, you're in heaven (which I'm sure is part of why many people loved the show - and the critical response *was* largely favorable, online hate notwithstanding).

I almost think the smartest thing they could do is reveal the identity of the killer early on, then make it a two-character play between him and Linden. (Robocop can stand in the background and smoke). If the mystery was what aggravated people about season one, get rid of that, focus on the character drama and atmosphere, and give us a hell of a compelling villain to root against/perversely sympathize with.

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Originally Posted by TonyB79 

any show centered around a large chunk of information that deliberately has to be kept from the audience for a long period of time (cough*Lost*cough) is going to be manipulative.

That comparison means you either didn't watch LOST, or have have forgotten most of it. Regardless of one's thoughts on the final stretch, LOST told a compelling mini-story almost every week while answering numerous mysteries in satisfying fashion ("What's in the hatch?", "Who are The Others?", "Who's in the coffin?", and so on).

THE KILLING collapsed into parody during season -one-. "Is this person the killer? No.", "Is this person the killer? No.", "This person HAS to be the killer, right? Nuh-uh." is not compelling, it's a bad joke. Throw in some eye-rolling dialogue ("He was wet, soaking wet. Like he' d been in the water.”) and some incredibly lazy plot twists (two girls in Seattle both having the same Grand Canyon shirt, the politician's email magically checking itself every millisecond AND sounding an air raid siren for new mail, etc etc etc), and you have a show that deserved every derisive word it got.

The leads and solid directing tricked me briefly into thinking it was a good show. Now, in terms of quality or rating, I just don't get why anyone would bring it back. But hey, if you enjoy it, great. If they're going to make another season, someone should get something out of it!

I hope nosebleed girl is back for season 3.

Linden: "Oh my God... such horror... This was the killing floor."

Sterling: "Sorry, my bad. All the dry air lately. That plus spring pollen, and, well, I'm really sorry. This is just where we go to huff gas."

Yes, because I disagree with you about it clearly means I've "forgotten most" of the show. Oh, well... at least it's something different from the standard, tired 'you just didn't get it.' And yep, those storylines about Claire trying to catch a bird, or Desmond building a lightning rod, or Bernard trying to build an SOS sign out of boulders were truly compelling stuff. Totally made the six-year cocktease worth it.

As for The Killing - there's no question that, on a plot level, it was forced and manipulative (again like Lost). But, also like that other show I don't remember/didn't understand, it had a lot more going on in the character department, and it had mood on top of that (can't help but wonder if Seattle is such a dreary, rainy place in real life). The stuff focusing on Rosie Larsen's family was generally strong, and the relationship between Linden and Holder was well-developed. And you've got Billy Campbell chewing the scenery - or really, more like slowly chipping away at it with long, soulful gazes - so you can't go wrong with that.

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Originally Posted by Kevin Matchstick 

I hope nosebleed girl is back for season 3.

You can make fun all you want but having your period through your nose seems like a serious condition.

More like she had her exclamation point.

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Originally Posted by Kevin Matchstick 

More like she had her exclamation point.

Fuck that was better than mine, point goes to you sir.

Ah, so now it's about the big picture again. I thought it was totally about all those interesting and compelling individual stories.

Remember that two-hour episode where Ben spent half of it moving trash cans around, and we all watched 'cause we just couldn't pass up the chance to learn a few more little tidbits about the Orchid and the Dharma Initiative and the island's time travel properties and whatnot? Yep, great storytelling. Not at all a bunch of nonsense cynically calibrated to create a false sense of building toward something greater, something we'd sit through all the years of treading narrative water to get to. Yep, it was all about the CHARACTERS, and the JOURNEY. The endlessly compelling journey of spending 45 minutes watching a guy stuff trash cans into a microwave in order to blow a hole in the wall. That's the essence of Lost, right there.

And even with all the silly twists and red herrings, The Killing will never be as ridiculous as that.

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Well played. There's no shame in admitting defeat.